The recently announced bailout of Banca Monte Dei Paschi di Siena retail Tier 2 bondholders and the limited bail-in of institutional Tier 1 holders has thrown to the fore a bitter dispute around the wipe-out of shareholders and subordinated bondholders in six Slovenian banks that were rescued by the state in 2013 and 2014.
The Pan-Slovenian Shareholders’ Association (VZMD), acting on behalf of dispossessed creditors, has lodged class-action lawsuits against the banks and the central bank to reverse what they see as the inconsistent application and interpretation of EU bail-in legislation, and harsh, unnecessary and unconstitutional actions by the government based on questionable data.
